Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - 'SEEIN IS BELIEVIN'

The title above is a line that was given to me by my first department manager.  Of course, I have no idea how to give an exact spelling for 'seein' and 'believin' but this is all that I could come up with.

Throughout my time in this line of work I have found, that this particular phrase is the truest statement ever made when it comes to retail.  It has come in handy on many occasions.

Take for instance, a display or the way to operate a certain procedure for a department; you may know what you are talking about but let's say that the opposition has other ideas.  At first you may get frustrated because you know that your way is tried and true, but the opposition wins out in the long run.  Usually it is because the opposition is management.

But hold on, not all is usually lost.  Because, you see, it is the end result that matters.  And more often then not, it is the tried and true method that will win out, you just have to step back and allow the opposition to see for themselves. 

Of course this is how you learn another lesson; they don't always know what they are talking about.

This little, three worded phrase kind of hit home this week when we, the employees, witnessed the grief that a fellow employee was being put through.

Some called it 'harassment', others called it 'not fair'.  And in all reality they were all right, because the way the situation was handled was not that of company policy. 

As employees, we have taken note of the changes and learned to adjust.  After all, what choices does one have - you might say, 'they got you over a barrel'.  We come from a different time and a different place; a company that took care of it's employees and in return the employees provided the company with the best support. 

But now that those days are gone, we have become realistic and realize that we are vulnerable and have to be prepared.  Now having witnessed what one employee has gone through, we know that it can happen to any one of us.  Which leads me back to this little, three worded phrase.

Although we may have had an idea of what we were up against, we have now seen the reality and yes, we believe.

Talk at ya later!
 

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - ARE WE LOSING THE "VIBE"?

A manager once told me that this store has a definite 'vibe' about it.  And, that's a good thing.  That 'vibe' is the personality of the store.  When you take a group of people and put them together for a long period of time they, sooner or later, become one; actions, speech, thought process, skills and humor.  Each reflecting the other. 

And come to find out that is what our store has been most noted for, or at least that is what the customers tell me.  It's not the company name, products, sales or even this 'customer appreciate' thing - it is us.

But, be that as it may, this 'vibe' may be changing.  And, that is not a good thing.

With the transfer of employees becoming more common, more part-time employees being hired on and managers coming and going more constant, different personalities and work performances have come into play. 

One of the highlights around here is that customers enjoy stopping and chatting with the employees, while doing their shopping. Most generally they know your name and over the years you have come to know about their families, health and all sorts of incidentals of what they, the customer, are going through.  In a way, you have become friends.  And if there is anything the customers wish to bring to our attention, they know that the employees will follow through.

So the other evening two of our loyal customers stopped to chat and fill me in with all of the latest.  While they were talking to me, they started to tell me of a couple of incidences that they had encountered here at the store.

They started to tell me that they 'love ' this store and how much they enjoy so many of the employees.  But recently they had noticed that the newer employees were not as helpful - friendly, just not helpful.  While shopping in one of the perishable departments they brought to the attention of a clerk that a particular product, which was on sale, did not look good and that there was not very much of it prepared.  The clerk, in a friendly way, just agreed with the customer and made no offer of assistance and just walked away.  Something that this customer was not use to.  So the customer just left - something else the customer is not use to doing.

This is just one of quite a few stories that have been related to me. 

It's disappointing, to say the least, and although I hate to see this happen it is understandable when you consider the  changes that this store has been going through. 

Not too long ago, I was having this very discussion with another long term employee.  During the conversation we both agreed on the different things that we had witnessed and how sales had been affected.

So, I asked her, "Are we losing the 'vibe'?

She nodded her head - yes.

Talk at ya later!

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - RENEWED ENTHUSIASM

As most of the customers know I am the 'Flower Girl', a name given to me many years ago.  In fact, my name badge claims me to be the 'Floral Specialist'.  And until about four years ago, I was quite the floral expert - so to speak.

It use to be, until changes were made, that this little department displayed assorted arrangements.  Be they in baskets, vases or boxes with big bows - they sold quite well.  It was fun, in away, to see what I could come up with that would intrigue the customers enough to make the purchase.

But, I have to give credit where credit is due.  Be it the selection I would order or the arrangements I would create, it was all due to the customers.  You see, I discovered a long time ago that in order to please customers you only had to watch them to see what they were interested in.

And, so it began.

For me, it was an ego trip.  All of the compliments, thank you, orders and the realization that sometimes customers only came into the store to get flowers.  We had a reputation and it was a good one.

But, as fate would have it, there would be changes made that would kind of take the very creation of the department and change it forever; they call it 'downsizing'.

First the amount of hours to work the department were cut and then suppliers were changed and, if that were not enough, a display cooler was removed and well - interest in the department took a hit.

No longer was there enough of a selection in the flowers, no more room for cut arrangements, not enough time to work the department and the quality of the stock was not as good as originally handled.  And with these changes came another change, the loss of customers.

Since I was the one who came up with the ideas and taught myself how to create sales these changes were a hard hit.  And yes, I took it personally.

I had never been told to do these things, I just took it upon myself.  And what I ended up creating, were sales.

This was the first time that I began to realize that companies do not think of customers, and what they want, when making their decisions.

So for the next few years I had to learn how to juggle the work load; throw a 50 pound bag of potatoes, water the plants then fill the bananas, bag the Broccoli, crisp the lettuce then box a dozen single roses.  Ordering became a hassle due to sales versus shrink.  There was not enough time to work the department, since there were other departments to work.  And most importantly, there was no support. 

So gone were the compliments, interest and sales.

But, hopefully things are beginning to change - again.

Even though I work less hours (RETIRED), I am now able to give more time and work to this little department; renewed enthusiasm.  There still is not enough room for arrangements but I will try to make some adjustments, along with improving selections.

I will not be able to get the old customers back, since they do not shop here anymore, but I will aim for new customers; let them see what we can do, that is like a calling card.

I really don't know what the future holds for this little department.  But, it is worth a shot.

Working here has provided me quite a bit of insight into what makes retail work, and it is rather simple; pleasing the customers.

How easy is that?

Talk at ya later!

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - ACCEPTING CHANGE/OR NOT

Now that my life has made a 180 degree change, I find that most things remain the same.   And to celebrate this grand event of retirement (semi), I took a week off.  Just to kind of get the feel of things.

But before I took this little vacation, the company decided to play the 'move the managers around' game.

Here we go again!

What is ironic about this move, is that customers can always tell when a new manager comes into the picture; department/store appearance is always a dead give-away.  What use to be, no longer is and what wasn't, now is.

So after a week off, I went back to work and when I walked into the store I noticed something which I had not seen in a long time - change.

Now I was looking at the store as a customer would and it was rather disappointing, to say the least.

What use to be colorful was now drab and what use to look organized now appeared cluttered.  And product that once aroused the appetite now didn't look so fresh and inviting.

It was disappointing to see this change, but I just kind of shook it off and proceeded to go and clock in.

If there is one thing which I have learned, while working in this store, it is that change is not always good.  In fact, it seems that we take  five steps back before we take one step forward.  And is anything ever learned from these changes?  Not really.  Changes continue to be made in an attempt to find the perfect formula.  Kind of like 'grasping at straws'.

So now we start over - again.

All of the hard work and pride of the past will slowly fade and a new formula comes into play.

And the one thing I have always noticed, when these changes take place, is that the party implementing the change always, 'knows what they are doing'.

That is until the changes do not show any improvement in the bottom line. 

And then, of course, there will be another change.

Talk at ya later!

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - 'OVER THE HILL' - SO TO SPEAK

A funny thing happened to me on my day off - I RETIRED (kind of).

This move of mine is exciting yet, somewhat, saddening.  I am now able to make plans and do things that there was never enough time for - while at the same time, I cannot escape the thought that this is the second part of my life that has finally approached me.

It's strange, to one day waking up and realizing that you are now old enough  to label yourself as retired.  You are now able to collect that Social Security that you have begrudged coming out of your wages year after year.  That now is the time to start planning and doing all of those things that you could neither afford, nor had the time to do.  And if that is not enough, well you can now begin to plan for the rest of your life - old age. 

Working in a grocery store has allowed me to witness this age thing.  Every day I am confronted with people who are going through this milestone of their lives.  And, trust me, I find it very frightening.

There is the physical appearance, mental outlook and personalities that give me an introduction as to what I, myself, may be in for.  And as frightening as it can be, it has provided me with enough examples of what I do not want to become - hopefully.

Since this retirement thing is something new in my life, I am not quite sure what I am ready to do; my thoughts are still kind of on the fast track.  So, I will take my time and ease into it.

In the meantime I will continue to put on the uniform and go to the store - with fewer hours. 

For some reason, I am not ready to say 'Goodbye', just yet.

Talk at ya later!

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - IT'S ALL ABOUT PRIDE

So, I'm coming back from my break and heading towards the elevator when I run into another employee, who is getting ready to go take her break; together we ride up the elevator.

There we are in the elevator when this employee starts explaining how she doesn't have the pride in her work anymore.  That's not her, she explains.  All the years that this employee has worked at this store, she always took pride in her work.  But now she is at a disadvantage and it bothers her.  With less help in her department, she goes on to explain, one has barely enough time to get all of the work done and things that use to get extra care no longer do.

Ironically, just last week another employee was venting the very same feelings.

You see, I would have thought that there would have been other things that perhaps would have frustrated these employees more then personal pride.

After all, within the last couple of years these employees have lost personal days, vacation time that use to depend on the amount of years worked are now figured according to the amount of hours worked, holiday pay is gone and hours have been cut along with more responsibility.

Every step taken in order to promote profit.

But instead of the factors that have cut their very livelihood, employees are focusing on the type of work that is now performed.

Does it affect the customers?  Oh yeah.

They no longer get the attention they were accustomed to and customers wait longer for what they are wanting due to lack of staff.

So, I guess, no matter how many cuts are made it will be the pride of the job that will be missed the most.

For the pride that they took in their jobs was their investment in where they work.

Talk at ya later!



 

 

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - SOMETHING MISSING

It use to be that our store received compliments on a regular basis.  And it was the Bakery, Meat, Produce and Floral departments that scored high marks.  But with the changes that have occurred over the last few years, the compliments have been few and far between.

It was the service rendered and the selection provided that were the deciding factors.

The other day, a customer came through the store looking for a certain product that she had purchased here before.  Unfortunately, we don't carry the item she requested - anymore.  The customer went on to say, how beneficial that particular product was and how the substitute didn't match up.   

But it was what the customer went on to say that really hit home;

"You use to carry it when you were _____, but nothing is the same since you're not _____ anymore."
And with that, the customer was gone.

Unfortunately, this comment was a realization as to how most of our old customers have felt - and then they were gone.

There are two things to note about the people that live on this side of town, or so I have been told;
1.  "They don't like change", and
2.  "They don't like to be separated from their money".

As employees, we miss those compliments. 

The compliments represented more then how the public felt about our store. Instead, these compliments represented us and the hard work we put into the store to make it successful.

It was our achievement.

Talk at ya later!